PANAMA CITY — A known local drug dealer has eluded police after a Thursday morning chase that ended with the suspect ditching a red Toyota east of Frankfort Avenue, police said.

Panama City police said the suspect drove off after an officer approached the suspect’s vehicle at about 8:30 a.m. near 20th Street and Michigan Avenue. Police had been called to the scene by a local resident who told them they saw the Toyota “loitering in an alleyway.”

Officers pursued the Toyota for a short distance before calling off the pursuit.

The suspect abandoned the Toyota in a clearing near a wooded area adjacent to the Andrew’s Place Apartments, just east of Frankford Avenue and south of the railroad tracks.

Panama City Police Sgt. John Morris said the driver is a suspect in another investigation.

“He’s one of those people who is a known narcotics dealer we are wanting to apprehend,” Morris said.

Morris said a “known associate” of the suspect may be residing at the apartment complex near where the Toyota was ditched.

A female who was placed in a squad car may have been pushed from the vehicle, though police said they still were investigating the incident.

“A female that was in the car with him may or may not have been pushed out of the car,” said Morris, standing along the right of way on Frankford just after 9 a.m.

The woman claimed she was held against her will when the suspect sped off from police. The woman knows the suspect and was not injured in the incident, police said.

The suspect is described as a black male, 5 feet 10 inches tall, about 185 pounds with close-cut hair and last seen wearing blue jean shorts, no shirt and white tennis shoes.

“We have some other charges we are looking at with him,” Morris said. “Some drug charges and driving charges.”

Law enforcement did not release the name of the suspect or the woman passenger.

Those with information regarding this incident are asked to call the Panama City Police Department at 872-3112. Anonymous tips can be reported to CrimeStoppers at 850-785-TIPS (8477).

(10:45 a.m. UPDATE) PANAMA CITY — Canine units and officers from the Panama City Police Department and Bay County Sheriff's Office are continuing the search for a kidnapping suspect who abandoned his car near Frankford Avenue and 20th Street this morning.

The incident began about 8:15 a.m. with the pursuit of a red Toyota Camry that was abandoned in the woods near the apartment complex. Panama City police said a resident called "concerned" about a red Toyota "loitering" in an alleyway with people inside it.

A news release said when officers approached the vehicle it fled and there was a short pursuit that was terminated due to the time of day and it being on residential streets. Within minutes, though, police found the vehicle abandoned nearby in the area of 20th Street and Frankford Avenue.

A woman walked up to police at the scene and told them she had been in the car earlier and was being held against her will by the driver before and during the pursuit, the release said. She said she was not injured and did know the driver.

The driver is described as a black male, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing about 185 pounds with close-cut hair, blue jeans, no shirt and white tennis shoes. Anyone with information should contact Detective Perkins at the Panama City Police Department, 872-3112, or call CrimeStoppers at 850-785-TIPS to leave an anonymous tip.